By Wendell Roelf
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - The ruling African National Congresswill name party deputy head Kgalema Motlanthe as South Africa'scaretaker leader after the ousting of President Thabo Mbeki,ANC members of parliament told Reuters on Monday.
ANC leader Jacob Zuma made clear his backing for Motlantheas he pledged that the party would ensure a smooth transitionand economic policy continuity despite the biggest politicalcrisis since the end of apartheid in 1994.
"We have in cabinet many experienced ministers, includingthe deputy president of the ANC, Kgalema Motlanthe. I'mconvinced that if given that responsibility, he would be equalto the task," said Zuma, in his first public remarks sinceMbeki announced he would resign in the face of ANC demands toquit.
Motlanthe is a left-leaning intellectual, widely respectedby both the radical leftists and business tycoons within theANC. He is seen as a figure who could help heal the deepestdivisions in the party's history.
"He's a very solid person and if you've read his statementshe always avoids wild rhetoric. He seems to also avoid makingenemies and in the present political climate that's a goodthing," said Keith Gottschalk, a political analyst at theUniversity of the Western Cape said.
"Certainly, most would regard him as presidentialmaterial."
ANC militants led the charge to force out Mbeki after ajudge threw out graft charges against his rival Zuma andsuggested there was high-level political meddling in the case.
African National Congress parliament members told Reutersthe party would name Motlanthe to replace Mbeki until the poll,expected around April, which the ANC is widely expected to win.
The opposition Democratic Alliance said parliament wouldelect Mbeki's successor on Thursday.
Motlanthe is a former student activist, a trade unionistand a former soldier in the ANC's disbanded military wingUmKhonto we Sizwe. In 1977 he was sentenced to 10 yearsimprisonment and was jailed on Robben Island with NelsonMandela and Zuma under the racist apartheid regime.
ECONOMIC STABILITY
Policy changes under Motlanthe in the short interim periodwould be unlikely but foreign investors eager for stability anda continuity of policy in Africa's biggest economy will bewatching closely for clues on the ANC's future policy.
"In the short term, uncertainty will remain as the newpolitical regime settles in, with some cabinet changes likelyin coming weeks," said Mike Davies, Middle East and Africaanalyst at Eurasia Group.
Ratings agency Fitch said radical economic policy changewas unlikely. But Mbeki's resignation added to politicaluncertainty.
"The interim president and his or her team will have tocarefully manage the transition so as to not worsen alreadyweak investor sentiment and add to macroeconomic risks," saidVeronica Kalema, director in Fitch's Africa and Middle Eastdepartment.
The rand rebounded during Monday's session as the dollarslid against most currencies, having fallen after Mbeki'sresignation.
Government bonds gained slightly, partly on receding fearsof a turbulent presidential transition. And equities rosealongside higher metals prices with the benchmark Top-40 up 2.1percent by the close.
Zuma sought again to reassure markets that he will not givein to pressure from leftist union and Communist Party allies toshift away from Mbeki's business-friendly policies if hebecomes president in 2009.
Motlanthe's appointment is almost certain to be officiallyapproved by the ANC-dominated assembly.
But Archbishop Desmond Tutu said he was "deeply disturbed"by the ANC's ouster of Mbeki.
"It is good old-fashioned tit-for-tat. Our country deservesbetter. The way of retribution leads to a banana republic," theNobel Peace Prize laureate told reporters.
Uncertainty may still deepen if Mbeki supporters split fromthe ANC and contest elections as a breakaway party in 2009, asmedia reports suggest they will.
Seeking to ease concerns that an exodus of pro-Mbekiministers would hurt the country, Zuma said the party wantedall current cabinet ministers to remain in their posts.
That suggests widely respected Finance Minister TrevorManuel -- a key figure for foreign investors -- will remain.
Manuel indicted on Saturday he will not resign and hasrepeatedly said he will serve at the request of any president.
(Additional reporting by Paul Simao and Phakamisa Ndzamela;Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Louise Ireland)
